We Were Here
by TeenTypist
Summary: Ron rolled under Harry's bed, trying to help the others locate Trevor. Harry, you'd better come see this. What is it? Your dad was here. Part 3 posted.
1. We Were Here

**_We Were Here_**

**By**

**Teen Typist**

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**Disclaimer:** I'm only borrowing these characters for a moment in time. They aren't mine. They wish they were.

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Seventh year students Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter were down on all fours looking for Trevor in the boys' dormitory. It was the Christmas holidays. Mrs. Weasley had offered to let them all come to the Burrow for the winter break, but seeing s it would be their last Christmas at Hogwarts, they wanted to stay. Neville's Gran had passed on about a month into the school year and he figured that staying at Hogwarts would help keep his mind off of it, even though Mrs. Weasley had offered him a place at the Burrow. The break was going well so far, but now it was Christmas Day and Trevor was lost. 

Neville was on his knees, looking to see if Trevor had gotten into his trunk somewhere. Harry was searching through the hamper to make sure Trevor wasn't caught up in anyone's clothing. Hermione and Ron were checking under the beds.

They'd been looking for the better part of a quarter of an hour and hadn't had any luck yet when Ron gave a shout from under Harry's bed. "Hey! I found something. Harry, you'd better come see this."

"Did you find Trevor?" Neville asked hopefully.

"No, sorry, Nev," Ron said. He rolled over to make room as Harry, Hermione, and Neville joined him under the bed. In the process, he lost his wand as Harry was now laying uncomfortably on top of it.

"What are we looking at?" Hermione asked, between Neville and Harry.

Harry, between Hermione and Ron, said, "Anybody have their wand on them that can reach it?" They were jammed under the bed like sardines in a tin.

"Me," Neville offered. He was on the end and his wand was easily reachable. "_Lumos_." He handed the lit wand to Hermione, who passed it to Harry, who passed it to Ron.

Ron held it up to what he was trying to show them.

Harry saw words carved onto the underside of his bed. Almost half of the space was full of writing.

* * *

_**We were here.**_

_**Masters Prongs, Padfoot, Moony, & Wormtail**_

_**September 1, 1975

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**_

**_Prongs loves LE.  
_****_Padfoot 1.4.76  
_****_

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_**

**_I do _not_, Padfoot.  
_**_**Prongs 4/2/76**_

_**

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_**Wormtail agrees with Padfoot.  
**__**Wormtail 5-3-76  
**__**

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_**Moony says Prongs stands no chance with LE.  
**__**Moony: May 15, 76**__**

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_**Wormtail agrees with Moony.  
**__**Wormtail 5-17-76**__**

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**_

_**This is MY bed stop writing on it!  
**__**Prongs 6/1/76  
**__**

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**_

_**Lily Evans finally said YES!  
**__**Prongs a.k.a. the Happiest Man Alive  
**__**9/28/77**_

_**

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Way to go, Prongs!  
**__**Padfoot 9.29.77**__**

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_**As Head Boy you shouldn't be writing on your bed like this, Prongs.  
**__**Moony: October 2, 1977**_

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**_Neither should you, Mr. Prefect.  
_**_**Wormtail 10-5-77**_

**_

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Quit writing on my bed! Go carve letters into Wormtail's bed if you must.  
_****Prongs 10/10/77**_

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Padfoot already did. Gee, thanks for giving him the idea, Prongs.  
**Wormtail 11-5-77** __

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Prongs, is LE a good snogger?  
**Padfoot 11.10.77** ****__

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As if I'd tell you.  
**Prongs 11/20/77** __

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I'll take that as a "no."  
**Padfoot 12.1.77** ****__

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She's a better snogger than your girlfriend.  
**Prongs 12/15/77** __

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I don't have a girlfriend right now.  
**Padfoot 12/18/77** __

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I think that was his point.  
**Moony: December 20, 1977** __

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FYI, Padfoot, Lily is a terrific snogger.  
**Prongs 1/5/78** _

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Prongs is right.  
**Wormtail 2-4-78** __

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How would you know?  
**Prongs 2/11/78** __

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I second that.  
**Padfoot 2.12.78** ****__

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Mistletoe. 3rd year.  
**Wormtail 2-14-78** __

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I saw that. That was barely a peck on the cheek.  
**Moony: February****20, 1978** __

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Ha ha.  
**Prongs 2/27/78** __

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Ha ha HA.  
**Padfoot 2.28.78** __

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Ssh. You didn't have to tell them, Moony. Thanks a lot. I never get to mess with anybody's brain.  
**Wormtail 3-12-78** __

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Beware the Ides of March  
**Padfoot 3.15.78** __

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For the last time: STOP WRITING ON MY BED!  
**Prongs 3/25/78** __

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It was YOUR idea in the first place, Prongs.  
**Wormtail 3-29-78** __

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If you marry LE maybe your son will see this someday, Prongs.  
**Moony: March 30, 1978** __

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Kids? Marriage? You're scaring me, Moony! I'm not 18 yet even.  
**Prongs 3/31/78** __

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HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY! Everybody like their surprises?  
**Padfoot 4.1.78** __

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We hate you, Padfoot  
**Moony & Wormtail: April 2, 1978** __

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My sentiments exactly.  
**Prongs 4/3/1978** __

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Why doesn't anybody love me?  
**Padfoot 4.5.78** __

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Git.  
**Wormtail 4-10-78** __

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Sorry, Wormy. Didn't mean to scar you for life.  
**Padfoot 4.16.78** __

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Padfoot, seeing Snape in his boxers would scar ANYONE for life. Why did you have to hang him from the ceiling in the hallway dressed like that?  
**Prongs 4/20/78** __

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I thought it was funny.  
**Padfoot 4.27.78** __

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A note to Prongs, Padfoot, & Wormtail: STUDY FOR YOUR NEWTS, you idiots.  
**Moony: May 1, 1978** __

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_I asked Lily to marry me and she said YES!  
_**_Prongs a.ka. The Luckiest Man in the World  
6/25/78_**

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_Congratulations, Prongs!  
_**_Moony, Padfoot, Wormtail  
6/26/78_**

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_We were here. If you're reading this, whoever you are, now we're not. Today, we graduate Hogwarts to leave these halls forever. We've had a lot of memories. Some happy, some sad. Mostly happy. Whoever you are, brave Gryffindor, we hope your days are as good as ours have been._

_**Moony, Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail**_

_**June 30, 1978**_

* * *

Harry smiled. To think, if they hadn't been looking for Neville's toad, they might have never found this. "I can't believe we've been in my dad's old dorm for seven year's and never knew it," he said. 

"I think we should write something," Hermione said impulsively.

Harry and Ron looked over at her as best they could. Surely Hermione wouldn't suggest such vandalism.

"Yes, I said what you thought I said," she said impatiently. "Give me that wand." Ron passed the wand to Harry and Harry passed it to Hermione. She muttered a spell and raised the tip of the wand to a vacant spot on the wood. "What do we want to say?"

They discussed for a few moments and settled on the words that still leave their mark there today.

**_

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We are here. And we have a few words of advice. Live each day like it's your last, because you never know when your last day will be. Use what you're good at and you can solve any problem you face. Dungbombs are always a good distractioninpotions class or when escaping from evil wizards. Studying is important, but don't forget to play every once in a while too. If you're in this house, the Hat didn't make a mistake; you've got courage, FIND IT. And above all else: never tickle a sleeping dragon. _**

**_Harry Potter, son of Prongs and Lily_**

**_Ron Weasley, future Auror_**

**_Hermione Granger, the brains behind the "Dream Team"_**

**_Neville Longbottom, the boy who realized that no one is completely without courage_**

**_December 25, 1997_**

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**Author's Note:** What did you think?I wrote this in about an hour, but I really like it.I thought about doing another chapter that just has a few paragraphs about each other situations leading to the MWPP notes. Would anybody care to read it if I wrote it? Reviews are most appreciated. 


	2. 1976

**Disclaimer:** These aren't my characters. I'm just borrowing them for a few minutes.

**Author's Note:** This is the first part. I made one date change; I changed Wormtail's May 27, 1976 response to May 17, 1976. Thanks to everybody who reviewed: Stargazing Maiden, siriusforeva, Stella Blu, hydraspit, eternalstupor, Jedi Knight Bus, Alana-Lou, Augurey Song, DOJ, dweem-angel, Amandinka, Syris Noir, holyheartbreak, anne, imfeelingthis182, Blathnaid, hollyy, Kayu Silver, DementorIceCream, Prongs J. Potter, Artemis Moonsong, LazyCat, the sheep moos, Rider-of-Rohan23, praesul femella, Atled Willy, lizziee, JessiAnne032791, feltons-babe90099, and Starsight52. If anyone is waiting for an update on one of my other stories, I'm working on them, but having a little trouble. Don't worry, they're coming.

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**SEPTEMBER 1, 1975**

James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus were sitting on the Hogwarts Express.

"I'm bored."

"Me too."

"So am I."

"Well, I've got a Prefect meeting, so the three of you can here and be bored," Remus said, standing up and moving toward the door. He left, slamming it shut behind him so hard that it opened again.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Great, now we don't even have Moony to bug anymore."

James was sullen for a moment, then looked around and grinned. "I know! Let's play bounce."

"Bounce?" Sirius asked, dubiously.

"Yeah…" James said. He jerked his head in the direction of Peter, who was sorting his chocolate frog cards. James tore off a bit of parchment that was sticking out of his trunk and rolled it into a ball, throwing it and bouncing it off the side of Peter's head. "Bounce," he repeated.

A smile identical to James's spread across Sirius's face. Sirius looked around for some parchment and couldn't find any of his own, so he improvised. He tore the back page out of the book Remus had been reading and started making ammo out of it.

James built up his own ammo with the piece of parchment he had. When they both had a sufficient store, James held up three fingers, lowering them one by one. When he reached zero, he and Sirius started playing "bounce" against Peter's head.

"Agh! Ouch! Stop it!" Peter said, as he rummaged through his trunk, looking for his wand. Fortunately he managed to use the Protego charm before they'd thrown everything at him.

"I win!" Sirius said triumphantly.

James stared at him. "What do you mean 'I win'? I have less pieces left than you do, so that means I threw more at him than you did."

"Does _not_. You only have less left because I started with more. That means I win." 

"Quit bickering, you're both mean. Do you realize that we could be copying Moony's homework instead of throwing things at my head?" Peter asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I'm not doing my homework except Transfiguration, and that's done. Making a stand and all that. We shouldn't get homework over the holidays."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You say that every year. And you?" he turned to James.

"I did my Transfiguration and I copied most of the other stuff from Remus when he was staying at my house last week."

"He let you copy?"

"Not really. I took out his homework while he was showering."

"So am I the only who isn't done?" Peter whined.

"Correction, you're the only one who isn't done and _cares_ that he isn't done. You can copy James's homework tonight," Sirius said easily.

"Why mine?" asked James.

"Because," Sirius said. "Because yours is pretty much done, mine isn't, and Moony won't let him copy."

"Fair enough."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment.

Sirius knocked his head back against the wall. "I'm _still_ bored."

"Me too," James said.

"Well, don't look at me," Peter said. "I'm not going to be target practice anymore."

"I think we should do something to leave a mark here. We sit in this compartment every year," James said.

"Remember last year when we had to scare out those first years?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah. Evans was sure after us for that," James said grinning.

"I remember. She said, 'Well, your names aren't on this compartment so it's free for anyone who wants it,'" Peter said, mimicking Lily Evans's voice.

"So let's do it," James said.

"Do what?" asked Sirius.

"Put are names on it?" asked Peter.

"Yeah! Why not?" James asked.

Sirius smirked. "Excellent!"

"Wormy, would you gimme your wand?" James asked.

Peter handed the wand over.

James turned around in his seat and was just about to write JAMES POTTER into the back of it when Lily Evans passed by.

She saw that he had his wand pointed at the back of the seat and stopped in her tracks, sticking her head into the compartment. Those boys shouldn't even have their wands out. Even though they were officially allowed to do magic on the train, they had no reason to be doing it now. "Potter!" she barked.

James turned his head, smiling in a charming way that usually got him out of trouble with most people. It was a smile that got him out of trouble with his mum, his teachers, and pretty much anyone else. It was not however a smile that could get him out of trouble with Lily Evans. "Hello, Evans. What can I do for you?"

"What are you doing, Potter?" She stepped into the compartment.

"Writing my name on the back of my seat. The Hogwarts letters say that all student belongings should be clearly labeled. This is my seat, therefore is should have _my _name on it."

"Potter, that's vandalism. I'm taking your wand and giving it to the conductor at the front of the train. You can get it back from him when we reach Hogwarts." She snatched the wand and stalked out.

"Evans! Evans! That's my wand!" Peter called after her. But it was too late. She was gone.

"Sorry, Wormtail," James said, not sounding particularly sorry.

"That _was_ a good idea though, mate," Sirius said consolingly.

"We could still use one of your wands," Peter said grouchily.

"Nah," James said, running a hand through his hair. "Evans is smarter than that. She'll be checking up on us. We should still leave are mark on the school, but not here."

"How about the door of our dormitory?" offered Peter.

"Too visible. McGonagall could find it and then we'd never hear the end of it from Evans if she found out we got in trouble for it," James said, waving the idea aside. "We need somewhere else."

They brainstormed for a while. Sirius suggested the windowsill. Peter suggested the headboard of each bed. Finally, they reached an idea James liked. Of course James liked the idea; he came up with it.

Remus came in, Wormtail's wand tucked behind his ear. "You aren't talking about vandalizing school property again, are you, boys?" he asked innocently.

Sirius clapped him on the back. "Of course we are, Moony. What's the first day back at Hogwarts without some good ol' rule breaking?"

Remus tossed Peter's wand back to him. "I met up with Lily Evans in the hallway and she said she was taking this to the conductor to hold. I offered to take it there for her."

"Thanks, Remus," Peter said gratefully.

"So what are you lot planning? I'm a Prefect now, so I really shouldn't be listening to this, you know."

"We're going to carve our names into the underside of one of our beds tonight," James said.

"Who's bed?" Remus asked. "Not mine."

"Not mine," Peter said. "I'm in enough trouble for the first day back as it is."

"I volunteer James," Sirius announced.

"I second that," Remus agreed.

"I third it," said Peter.

"Alright, alright, I'll do it. Just because I'm braver than the lot of you…" James said trailing off.

Sirius started shoving James, and James hit him back and pulled Peter into the fray. Peter kicked James and pulled Remus down into the fight too. They were a mess of arms, legs, bruises, and scratches by the time the train started to slow. By the time it stopped their bruises were healed or covered by Hogwarts robes.

Back in their dormitory after the Sorting Feast, Peter was copying the last of James's homework, Remus was double-checking his, and Sirius and James were writing out official rules for the newly invented game of _Bounce_. Around ten-thirty, James said to the room at large, "You know, we ought to do it."

"Do what?" asked Remus, irritated at being disturbed. He was almost done proofing his potions essay.

"Write out names under the bed. Not just our names. Some sort of message."

"You're right. We need something strong," Sirius said.

"But simple."

"But it has to have meaning."

"It has to be powerful."

"How about, we write, 'The Marauders'?" Peter asked.

"No…"

"The Marauders' Lair?"

"No…"

"The Bravest Gryffindors in History?"

"No…" As each suggestion came, James shot it down. He didn't know what he wanted it, but when it came, he'd know it.

"We solemnly swear that we're up to no good?"

"No…"

"The Marauders have managed their mischief?"

"No…"

"We were here?"

"Yes!" That was it. It was simple. It had power. It was perfect. "Good thinking, Wormtail." Without further hesitation, James picked up his wand and got down on his knees next to the bed. Seeing that the space was clear and hadn't been cluttered up yet, he slid under. "Come on. We ought to all sign it."

"I'm game," Sirius said, getting up from his cross-legged position on the bed next to James's.

"I'll write the message, James. Your handwriting is atrocious," Remus said, following suit.

"Me too," offered Peter. He got up and joined the rest of them, crowded under James's bed.

James handed his wand to Remus and Remus etched the letters into the wood underneath the bed.

**_We were here._**

After that, each of them took turns signing it with their Marauder name and Remus wrote the date underneath.

"There. Done," Remus said, satisfied.

"Not yet," Sirius said, snatching James's wand from Remus.

"What? It's perfect," Remus said, almost pouting.

"Nope. I think we need to add that Prongsie here loves Evans."

"I do not!" James said reaching across to get the wand away.

"Oh, come on, Prongs, I saw the way you were smiling and flirting with her on the train," Sirius said.

Peter snorted. "Sirius, he smiles like that at everybody."

At last, James managed to wrestle his wand away from Sirius and they all came out from under the bed and went to sleep.

* * *

**JANUARY 4, 1976**

Sirius was in the dormitory. Peter and James had detention (Sirius had barely escaped and would have stuck around if it weren't for the fact that their entire prank would have been ruined if he'd been found with all that Bubotuber pus). Remus was at a Prefect meeting. Sirius had the dormitory to himself.

He was practicing his juggling skills on some balled up socks he'd taken out of his trunk. He wasn't very good yet as it was a hobby recently acquired. Really, that Diggory had no reason to go and call him uncoordinated just because he fell down half a flight of stairs last week. So he'd bet him he could prove his coordination skills by learning to juggle in two weeks. Things were not going well so far.

One of the sock balls he was juggling fell and rolled onto the floor and under James's bed. With an exaggerated sigh, he got up to go fetch it.

He looked under the bed and couldn't see the sock; the sock was black and it was dark under the bed. Rather than wait for the sock to grow some sort of fungus and decay (the boys' dormitory was not exactly tidy), Sirius got off his knees to get his wand. Going back, he said the _Lumos_ spell so he could see where the sock was. He found it, and found something else to.

Sirius saw the message they'd written on the first day of the school year. He remembered how James wouldn't let him write that he loved Evans. Grinning, Sirius rolled unto his back and said the spell that would let him draw the letters into the wood.

**_Prongs loves LE._**

**_Padfoot 1.4.76_**

Satisfied, Sirius reclaimed his sock ball and slithered out from under the bed, ready to resume his juggling practice again. If he lost the bet he would have to announce at the Gryffindor table during dinner that Amos Diggory was hotter than Sirius Black. Well that was just _not_ going to happen. He got back to practicing and was still at it when his roommates returned.

* * *

**APRIL 2, 1976**

James felt like he was on the top of the world. Gryffindor had just won its second game of the season and he'd nicked the Snitch from the team Seeker, Frank Longbottom. Frank detested him. Thought he wasn't serious enough. Wasn't serious enough about his schoolwork. Wasn't serious enough about his team practices. Phht! Who cared?

The party was still going on downstairs and James had just come up to the dormitory to get out a hidden stash of Droobles. He hoped there was enough of it to stick one of the first years to the ceiling with. That was always a riot. He'd get a heck of a tongue lashing from Evans when she found out about it but it was worth it. There was a first year who'd been getting on his nerves lately…following him around like a puppy. He was definitely looking forward to gumming the kid to the ceiling.

Unfortuantely, when he went to move the floorboard and get out the secret stash of candy he hid from Sirius (boy did that guy have a sweet-tooth!), the Snitch flew out of reach. He groaned as he realized it was headed for the open window and bounded from the floor, hitting his knee on a bedpost. Still, he managed to closed the window, and just as he did, the snitch crashed into it. The Snitch bounced off of it and went back of to hide and bounce around under James's bed.

James left it there for a few minutes while he gathered his candy into a bag. He brought the bag and his wand over by the bed, sneaking up on the Snitch and trying to catch the little bugger.

He finally did, and that's when he noticed that there was another message under the one they'd all written. Sirius! Fuming, James reached for his wand and wrote another one next to it.

**_I do _not_, Padfoot._**

**_Prongs 4/2/76_**

With that, James crawled out from under the bed, picked up his candy, and went downstairs to rejoined the party.

* * *

**MAY 3, 1976**

Peter grumbled. Just because James had detention, that didn't mean that _he_ should have to look for his rank practice gear and make sure the house-elves got it. It'd help if James at least knew where he'd left it.

James had told him that he was pretty sure that all his practice gear was still tied up in a ball and had ended up under the bed when he and Sirius were playing football with it the night before.

Peter groaned and got down on his hands and knees. He was always stuck doing the dirty work. Sirius and James had detention _again_. Remus had a Prefect meeting. So would good ol' Pete get his best buddy's practice gear into the laundry? Of course he would; he always did; never doubt it, never doubt good ol' reliable Petey. Pete had no life of his own and nothing better to do that look for James's disgusting Quidditch paraphernalia and make sure it got cleaned; though it ought to have been burned it was so bad.

James had forgotten about having the gear cleaned (again) and Frank wouldn't let him come to practice until it was; Frank was concerned the other players might pass out if they had to smell the clothes, even at flying distance. Sirius had suggested James offer to attend practice in his birthday suit, but Remus and Peter had managed to talk him out of that one. Peter found James's practice gear, under the bed, split open from the bundle it'd been tied into. He also found the messages Sirius and James had added. He snorted. He was pretty sure himself that James had a crush on Evans. He'd seen the way he looked at her. Not to mention that now he was asking her out on weekly, if not daily, basis. So, he added his own message right along side the first two.

**_Wormtail agrees with Padfoot._**

_**Wormtail 5-3-76**_

Peter slid out from under the bed and put the smelly (and that is a severe understatement) practice gear in the hamper. The house-elves would clean anything, but they typically didn't touch the clothes unless they were in the hamper. Something about their code or their rules or something like that.

* * *

**MAY 15, 1976**

Remus sat in the shade of the tree, staring at his book without reading it. He was doing it again. Sitting by and doing nothing, pretending not to notice when his friends blatantly picked on and ganged up on Severus Snape. He tried to concentrate on his book, but he couldn't block out the words, the taunts, or the hexes.

He felt guilty, but tried not to show it; he stared at the words on the page in front of him. Lily had cornered him after last week's Prefect meeting and demanded to know why he never did anything. Why didn't he keep his friends in check? Why did he just sit there when they harassed other people? Most of the time, Snape didn't even do anything to deserve be harassed, the lately he'd started instigating fights more and more. But what was he supposed to say? He stuck with them because they stuck with him after finding out he was a werewolf? No, it was more than that. She just wouldn't understand, couldn't understand. She knew he was a werewolf and would have figured it out if Dumbledore hadn't told her at the start of term (with permission from Remus). Their rounds for Prefect patrol were carefully scheduled to avoid having duty during the full moon. Remus flipped a page, even though he hadn't read a single word in ten minutes.

He felt Lily approaching like the way you can tell a storm is coming. Then he heard her and Potter and Snape start to go at.

"Leave him ALONE!"

"All right, Evans?"

"Leave him alone. What's he done to you?"

"Well, it's more the fact that he _exists_, if you know what I mean…"

Things often went like this. He kept his eyes fixed on his book, but didn't read anything about the Transfiguration spells he was supposed to be studying. He'd never get any studying done at this rate.

"…think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on…go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Remus had to try very hard to keep from snorting. James had showed an increased interest in Lily lately, but she still saw him for what he was: arrogant. Remus saw this, but James was one of his best friends and you had to take the bad qualities with the good. James and Sirius were loyal to a fault and definitely brilliant, but they were lazy and arrogant as well. But they were friends and it was worth the bad moments for the good. He'd never had friends before.

He waited until after Lily was both gone, listening cautiously to the conversation and waiting for a good time to rejoin the world at large and leave his pretended studying of his Transfiguration book. It was clear that he'd get no more actual studying done out here.

"What is it with her?" James asked.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

"Right. Right."

Remus peered cautiously over the edge of his book.

"Who wants to see me take Snivelly's pants off?" James asked, looking around the circle of onlookers and trying to save face.

Remus saw that Snape was once again hanging upside down. It was time to put a stop to this. He stood up and walked with slow but deliberate steps to Sirius and James, putting a steady hand on each boys' shoulder. He spoke in a soft, calming way. "You've hand your fun. Leave him alone."

"Moony, we—" James started.

"I said _leave him alone_. You've had your fun and now you've studying to do. Put down your wands and walk away. It's over."

"Moony, it's Snivellus. It's never ov—" Sirius said.

"Leave him alone or I'm turning your wands over to Evans and I'll let her decide when you get them back," Remus said quietly. He knew threatening them with detention was no good.

"Spoilsport," muttered Sirius.

Remus ignored the comment and kept a hand on each shoulder. Slowly, his friends lowered their wands. He looked back at Peter and saw him half standing, wand out; apparently Peter had wanted to join in the fun too. He shot Peter a look and Peter sat back down, putting his wand away. Sometimes he was disappointed in his friends; picking on Slytherins when they deserved it (and sometimes when they didn't) was one thing, but this sort of repeated humiliation on one person was getting out of hand.

James looked coldly at Snivellus, whose face was going red from being suspended upside-down for so long. "You're not worth the time of day," he said disgustedly. "But don't you ever, ever, say a nasty word about Evans again."

Sirius said a few choice words to Snape, mostly obscenities and turned heel with James.

Remus, ventured a couple of steps closer to Snape and performed the countercurse. "I suggest you return to your common room," he said softly. To the now dwindling audience, he said, "The show's over. Everybody go back to your studying."

The crowd didn't move much.

"NOW!" Remus barked at them.

"You heard the man, get out of here," Sirius said, looking for something suitable to throw at any bystanders who lingered around.

The crowd wandered off and Remus went to retrieve his book. The only problem was that now Sirius had it and was holding it over his head. "You act like you're not the same as us anymore, Moony, but you are. You're just the same as the rest of us. You wanted to hex Snivellus too. I think you would have done it if it hadn't been for this badge." Sirius adeptly plucked the silver badge from Remus's robes. "Mates, let's play a little game…"

Three hours later Remus was finishing up Sirius's little "game." The game was called Don't Let Moony Study. It was very easy. Sirius and James stole his books while Peter kept him distracted, and the he had to spend a long time trying to find them all again. So far he'd located his Charms book in James's pillowcase, his Potions book in the shower, and his Care of Magical Creatures book in the hamper. He still had to locate his Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Arithmacy books as well as his Prefect badge.

He had a feeling he wouldn't find his Prefect badge; Sirius would have taken that with him as a trophy.

Remus noticed a shadow on the canopy of Peter's four-poster. He climbed onto Peter's bedside cabinet. Sure enough, there was his History of Magic book. He reached over and grabbed it. Four down, four to go. On impulse, he checked under James's bed.

Spell-o-taped to the underside of the bed was his Transfiguration book. As he took down the Transfiguration book, he found there were more messages underneath their collective: We were here. Officially he disapproved of this, but his curiosity got the better of him and he lit his wand to read what was written. He snorted. If nothing else, today was definitely an indication that Lily Evans had no interest in James Potter. He knew he shouldn't…but he couldn't help it. He said the spell and traced words into the wood with the rest of the messages.

**_Moony says Prongs stands no chance with LE._**

**_Moony: May 15, 1976_**

He felt a little guilty, but you only get to be young once. Why not bend the rules every now and again? Five books down, three to go.

* * *

**MAY 27, 1976**

Peter sighed. He absolutely hated when Sirius was bored. When Sirius and James were bored, it meant trouble. He'd overslept and they hadn't felt like waking him. He knew Remus would have done it, but Remus had left the room early for some sort of meeting with Dumbledore. James had done the classic shaving cream and feather in the face prank while Sirius had hid his wand. He had a test today and he couldn't take it without his wand. He'd searched through half the room and hadn't found it yet. He wondered if maybe Sirius and James had taken it with them. It wasn't in his trunk, not in the hamper, not under his bed, not on top of his canopy, not under his pillow. It seemed his wand was nowhere to be found. Oh, how he hated this game.

Maybe if he went down stairs he could find someone who hadn't left for breakfast yet and have them come up here and Accio his wand for him. Yes, that seemed the best course of action.

He went down to the common room, but the only one there was Evans. He wondered if she'd help him; he was a friend of her worst enemies. She was on her way out of the common room.

"Um, Evans?" he asked.

"Yes?" She turned around. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?"

"Sirius and James hid my wand. I really need it. Will you help? It won't take long. I need somebody to Accio it for me so I can find it."

She sighed. She'd really wanted to talk to Remus this morning before the Potions Exam. Oh well. She looked up distastefully at the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Very rarely had she ever gone up there, and usually only to yell at Potter. "Alright, Pettigrew. Come on, let's go find your wand."

Peter felt so relieved. "Thanks so much." He led the way to the fifth year dormitory.

Lily stepped in. She scanned the wand. She could spot Remus's area immediately; it was the cleanest by far. James's area was strewn with Quidditch gear. Sirius's area had Dungbombs, fake rats, and other such joke paraphernalia around. Peter's area appeared to have the contents of his trunk and bedside cabinet everywhere; clearly he'd been looking very diligently for his wand. She took her wand out. "_Accio_ wand!" she said, pointing nowhere in particular.

The wand came after a moment and landed in her outstretched hand. It had spell-o-tape still on it in two places.

"Here you go, Pettigrew. Looks like it was under Potter's bed. Pick your friends better. They shouldn't treat you like this, you know."

"I know, but…they're my friends. They're only joking…"

She looked him in the eye, standing by the door again. "Pettigrew, they hid your wand during the O.W.L.s. Does that sound like friendship?"

"You wouldn't understand. They're my friends. My best friends. My only friends."

"I suggest you find some new ones," she said simply. With that, she left.

Peter stared at his wand for a minute. They'd hidden it under James's bed. He wondered if James or Sirius had written anything down there. He crawled under the bed and lit up the space with his wand.

No new message from Sirius or James; apparently they hadn't had time. But there was a message from Remus from two days ago. Remus had a point. Evans would never go out with James. He added another message.

**_Wormtail agrees with Moony._**

**_Wormtail 5-17-76_**

He slid out from under the bed and hurried to the Great Hall. Maybe he could grab a piece of toast before his Potions O.W.L.

* * *

**JUNE 1, 1976**

James fumed. He couldn't find his shoes anywhere. He hoped Sirius hadn't chewed on them again. He sometimes lost control a little bit when he transformed. They were all still fairly new at this. It took people years to master transforming completely. It was difficult to keep control of your own thoughts when in a body that didn't know them.

He had a Quidditch game in an hour. Where were his shoes!

He finally found them, under the edge of his bed, covered in drool. "Yuck," he said, making a face. "_Scourgify_." He put the now clean and dry shoes on, sitting on the edge of his bed. He wondered idly if the house-elves had magicked away or sanded out the original message and the message Sirius had done, and the one he had done in response. He had time. He'd check. He slithered under the bed to look.

He was shocked. There were four more messages under there. Half-amused, half-angry, he added his own message. The house-elves, diligent as they were, would probably get rid of the all the writing over the summer.

**_This is MY bed stop writing on it!_**

**_Prongs 6/1/76_**

Satisfied, he went down to breakfast to eat quickly and get changed for his game. He had a game to win.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Any good? I know May was probably a little early for the O.W.L.s to take place but I really liked how that message worked wit hthat scene. Thanks, everybody! More to come. 


	3. 1977 Part I

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. :sniffle cry: Just borrowing random moments of their lives.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know it's been a LONG time but please don't hate me. Author's note at end explains all.

* * *

SEPTEMBER 28, 1977

It was almost the end of September and James had finally learned how to act around Lily Evans. Over the summer he and Remus had gotten together and created a rule list for him to follow. About a week into the school year James realized that Remus's rule list was not going to work for him. He couldn't always be "cordial" to her; he was fairly easy going but his temper got the better of him sometimes just like anybody else. He couldn't dress up for her or comb is hair down; dressing up was uncomfortable and slicking his hair back just wasn't him. There were a few other rules, but the only one James felt was really necessary to follow was _Rule #11: Don't pull Lily's hair_. He figured he could give her that much. As for the other stuff, why bother? If she didn't want him for him, then he didn't want her.

He just had to learn how to make her want him for who he was.

So far he was doing an all right job of it. He hadn't cursed Snivellus unless he deserved it—never cursed him where Lily could see them. He had even lived up to his Head Boy responsibilities as best he could. Things were looking up for him. They were on almost civil terms.

"Potter, did you meet with the Ravenclaw and Slytherin Prefects like I asked?"

"Yeah. They said that they'd iron out the details of the first Hogsmeade trip and help us work something out with Dumbledore. We're going to use _the he can't scare us and keep us from living _approach. Lily, we shouldn't cancel our Hogsmeade weekends because of Voldemort. That's the kind of thing that he'd want us to do. Dumbledore will agree and we'll work something thing out," James explained.

"Good thinking, Potter. Very mature of you," Lily said before she walked away.

James felt they were making progress. She was still calling him by his surname, but she wasn't objecting to his use of her first name.

Later that night James found himself standing in front of the bathroom mirror. Sirius and Peter were hammering on the door, but he didn't listen.

"Lily, I know you think I'm arrogant but I'm not. Wait, that's a lie. I can't tell her that. I know I'm arrogant. I just don't care. Hmm. She's not going to like that. Lily, I'm not as vain as I used to be. No, wait I still think I'm hot. I know I'm good looking. How am I different from fifth year when she said she'd pick the squid over me?"

"JAMES! Pete has to pee and I need my hair conditioner! Let us into the bathroom!" screamed Sirius, banging on the door.

"Go use the sixth years' bathroom!" James shouted through the door.

James studied his face in the mirror. He didn't look that much different. He didn't have the circles under his eyes that staying up late causing trouble used to give him. His hair was the same as ever. His eyes were the same hazel they'd been since the day he was born. His face was a little longer, and so were his sideburns. He hadn't changed physically, and he still felt like the same person. Just more…mature? Responsible? Respectful? He couldn't put his finger on exactly why he was different.

"Why would she ever give me a chance?" James groaned.

"JAMES POTTER, IF YOU LET US IN THE BATHROOM WE'LL TELL YOU WHY SHE'LL GO OUT WITH YOU NOW!" Sirius yelled.

Remus walked in at this point. "He won't get out of there?"

"No. Wormtail's got to use the can and I need my hair conditioner. I've got a date tonight," Sirius whined.

"Peter, go use one of the other bathrooms. Sirius, I'll get your conditioner. Watch." Remus went over to his trunk and dug out a pack of matches. He lit three of them and slid them under the bathroom door. "Just watch."

James was still taking to himself. "My personality is still the same. Mostly anyway. Why do I deserve her more now than before?" He was still rambling on when he noticed smoke coming from the door. Was the dormitory on fire? He blinked and coming out of his reverie of self-pity took a deep breath, pulled his robes over his nose and mouth, and plunged into the dormitory.

The dorm was fine.

Sirius rushed past him and grabbed his hair conditioner out of the shower.

Remus walked into the bathroom, stamped out the matches, and threw a glass of water on the smoking door. "Ha," he said, smugly looking at Sirius. "Alright now, James, tell us what's wrong," Remus said, taking James by the arm.

Sirius joined them, clutching his hair conditioner.

"It's Lily. I want to ask her out again. We've been on good terms since the end of last year, and I think if I ask the right way, she might just say yes. But I can't think of any good reasons why she should say yes. I'm not that much different from how I was when she hated me, am I?"

"Your personality is still the same."

"You look the same pretty much," Sirius said. "I disagree with the personality thing, Moony. Jamesie isn't as much fun as he used to be."  
"I'm still the same me," James said defensively.

"James, I don't think it's your personality that's changed. I think it's your priorities," Remus said quietly.

"My priorities?"

"Yes, James. As much as you and Padfoot hate to admit it, you little boys are finally starting to grow up. You aren't the perfect gentleman but you aren't the little dweeb pulling Lily's hair anymore."

James blinked. "Moony, you don't date. How'd you get so smart about these things?"

"When you don't have a social life, you have a lot of time left over to read," Remus said wryly. "You wanted to show her you could be serious and you've been a lot more responsible lately. You haven't shown off as much and you haven't been giving her a hard time. Apart from that, you've actually been turning schoolwork in."

"That's true. My hand is still sore thinking about that essay I did for McGonagall last week."

"If you want to give it one more shot and see if she'll go out with you, make her an offer she can't refuse, Prongs," Sirius said, no-nonsense for once.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"You'll figure it out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go make myself look gorgeous," Sirius said, pushing James and Remus aside. He went to the bathroom and shut the door, turning the shower on and starting to sing.

"What was Padfoot babbling about?" James asked. "I didn't understand a word of it."

"James, in the past you've tried a lot of tactics to get Lily Evans to go out with you. They've all failed so far. Try the one thing you haven't tried yet." Remus patted him on the shouldered and exited, brushing past Peter on his way out.

"What tactic is that? I've already tried everything. At least, everything I could think of," James groaned putting his head in his hands.

"James, I'm not exactly a ladies man, but can I offer you some advice?" Peter asked, leaning against the doorway.

"I'll take what I can get at this point, Pete. Shoot."

"Three things. Number one: Get dressed, you can't sit here and mope all morning. Number two: Get some breakfast in you; you happen to think best on a full stomach. And three," he paused a moment. "James, what's the one thing Lily Evans has wanted for the last couple of years?"

"An end to the war, perfect grades, the Head Girl badge, me to stop bugging her…I don't know! What sort of advice is that anyway?"  
"Put clothes on, eat, and think about what I said. That's all I'm saying." Without further ado, Peter himself started to get dressed.

By noon James had done nothing but follow his friends' advice. Except the part about actually speaking to Lily. He'd done a lot of thinking all through his classes, but he had yet to actually say anything to her. He hadn't quite gotten there yet.

Sirius looked sympathetically at James before turning back to Remus and Peter. "Can't we tell him yet? Or at least give him another hint?" he whined. "Look at him suffer. No appetite even."

James perked up to listen, but when back to sulking after the first word that came out of Remus's mouth.

"No," Remus said firmly. We've all told him the same thing. If he doesn't figure it out, he doesn't deserve her in the first place. Peter already gave him a big enough hint."

James glared at his so-called best friends. "How is it you're all on the same page here?"

"Because we discussed this one day last year when you were in detention. We were trying to figure out if there was ever an offer you could make to Evans that she'd have to say yes to," Peter said cheerful.

"Jamesie, eat. It'll help your concentration," Sirius said.

"I'm not hungry," he sulked.

Sirius decided it was his duty to make sure his friend didn't suffer any malnourishment, so he started feeding him, pinching James's nose when he refused to open his mouth. "If you want to breath, you have to open your mouth."

By dinner, James was stumped. He'd been chasing the question around his brain in circles all day. He couldn't find an answer. He was beginning to wish the stupid question would leave him alone. Then it clicked. There was one offer that Lily couldn't refuse. It was a risk if he was wrong and if he was right. If he was wrong, and she said no, it would undo his hard work in trying to be more presentable for her. If he was right…well, that'd be another risk but he'd cross it when he got there. He raced into the Great Hall to find Lily, just as dinner was starting. There was an empty seat next to her. "Hullo," James said, finding himself shy.

"Hello."

"Can I sit here? I need to speak with you."

"I suppose. But you know I don't like to talk business while I eat. If it's about the prefect meeting—"

"It's not. And it's not business. I've got a question to ask. Er, it's more like a proposition."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what would that be?"

"Lily Evans, for the past few years I have spent a lot of time annoying you and asking you out on dates. I'm sorry. I haven't been bugging you lately really, or asking you out. But I was wondering…"

"Spit it out, Potter," she said, looking a little bored, though her face had showed surprise when he said he was sorry.

"I propose you go on one date with me. If you go on said date and don't enjoy yourself, or if I act ungentlemanly, or if after said date you still have no desire to date me, I solemnly swear that I will never ask you out again. Will you go to Hogsmeade with me on Halloween, under these conditions? That's a month's notice in advance; it more than meets your standard for how far in advance you want a bloke to plan a date," he pointed out. There. It was all said. Now he just had to wait for her answer.

Lily considered carefully. This was good deal. She wasn't likely to get an offer like this from him again. Go on one date, say she had a lousy time, and then never have to deal with him pestering her about dating again? It sounded good to her, except that she'd have to go out with him once. He wasn't really so bad though. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he wasn't exactly the same creep he was in fifth year. "Yes, but I've got my own conditions for this as well. I'm not doing anything against school rules or the law on this date. No Firewhiskey, no sneaking off anywhere, just a little good clean fun. And not a word about the date must pass your lips beforehand. I don't want you to go blabbing that you finally go me to agree to go out with you," she said.

"Done. Do you have parchment and a quill? We can both write out the rules and make it official?"

"I've got ink and a quill, but no clean parchment. Just the back of that charms test Flitwick handed back today. I used everything else for my notes," she said, digging through her book bag.

James couldn't understand why she still had her book bag with her at dinner, but that was her own business. She'd probably been studying.

Together they wrote out the agreement.

_I, James Potter, would like to engage one Lily Evans in a date on the 31st of October, 1977. The date will be spent in Hogsmeade. If school policy prohibits them from going to Hogsmeade on such a day, the date shall remain the same, but be changed to an afternoon picnic on the lakeshore. If Lily Evans is in anyway made uncomfortable by the date or has no desire to continue seeing me after said date, I will never ask her out again. I shall not attempt to make Lily Evans break any school rules on said date, nor shall I speak a word about the date beforehand._

_So I, James Potter, solemnly swear._

_I, Lily Evans, agree to above terms set by one James Potter. I shall at no date between now and October 31, 1977 attempt to break this date. A cancellation renders the contract void and allows for him to ask me out again at a time of his choosing. I shall call him by his first name and attempt to be civil._

_So I, Lily Evans, solemnly swear._

They finished the meal in somewhat awkward silence. After dinner, James looked for his friends, but wasn't able to find them anywhere. He remembered then that Remus had a chess club meeting, Sirius had gotten detention at lunch for conjuring mudpuppies to appear in Snape's soup, and Peter was meeting with McGonagall about something.

He could have screamed. Here he was with the best news ever and he had nobody to tell it to! He guiltily remembered he wasn't supposed to tell anyone about it. He pulled the parchment out. Ah-ha! A loophole.

James climbed the stairs to the dormitory. He wondered if the house-elves had gotten rid of the under the bed writing while the students were away over the summer. He lit his wand and slithered under the bed. It was all still there. He added his own message, hoping sooner or later one of his friends would find it.

_**Lily Evans finally said YES!**_

_**Prongs a.k.a. the Happiest Man Alive**_

_**9/28/77**_

James figured that if nobody had seen it in a week days, he'd hide something under his bed and make sure that at least one of them would have to come looking for it. Feeling almost giddy, James floated down the stairs to find someone to get the day's notes from. The parchment was still in his pocket.

* * *

SEPTEMBER 29, 1977

Sirius grumbled. Why did James have to send him in here to look for his Quidditch gear. He just called up on the mirror and said he was running late and needed Sirius to grab his Quidditch gear for him and meet him down at the pitch.

Where had James said it all was, anyway?

Oh, right. Under the bed.

Sirius got down on his knees, saw the clothes and safety pads, and reached an arm under to pull them out. When they were all out he looked back under to see if anything else was there that'd he forgotten. He saw a paper dangling down; a corner of it was taped to the underside of the bed. Curious pulled it out and read it.

It was a contract between Lily and James. Lily finally agreed to the date! James must have finally figured out what it was that the three of them were hinting at.

"That rascal set me up," chuckled Sirius. He tried to think of something suitable to call James. Rascal didn't seem to do him justice. Git? Annoyance? Trickster? Genius. Yes, genius was suitable.

Sirius checked his watch. He really ought to get James's gear down to the pitch. He was tempted to throw it out the window instead and just have James find it on the lawn.

Instead his got onto his back on the floor and slid under the bed, checking to see if the old messages were still there. They were, and six new messages besides. He read them. James had managed to snag Lily yesterday according to the date under James's most recent message. Sirius took his wand and added his own words underneath.

_**Way to go, Prongs!**_

_**Padfoot 9.29.77**_

Slithering out from under the bed, Sirius thought about "accidentally" dropping the contract on Remus's pillow and then pocketed it instead. He'd find a better way to get the information to him.He frowned at the offending Quidditch paraphernalia on the ground by James's bed. Sighing melodramatically he gathered it in his arms and started the long journey to the Quidditch pitch.

* * *

OCTOBER 2, 1977

Remus knew that seventh year was going to be tough, but he hadn't expected the work to pile on so quickly. October was barely starting and they were up to their ears in assignments. Not that Sirius or James bothered to do theirs most of the time, but the assignments existed nonetheless. Well, James was at least doing his homework more than Sirius.

He wondered just what had happened to his watch. Sirius had taken it from him the night before when he complained that Remus's candles were keeping him awake. Remus had wanted to study earlier but Sirius, James, and Peter had distracted him. By the time he'd managed to get over to the library it was closed and he'd had no choice but to sit in bed and study. Sirius hadn't liked this and had thus initiated the game of monkey-in-the-middle with Remus's watch.

Now it was the next morning and all of his roommates were at breakfast, gone before he'd gotten up. He'd woken with a note spell-o-taped to his forehead. This lead him to a note under his favorite chair in the common room, which led him to the sink, which led him back to his dorm room. Sirius must have gotten up _very_ early to deal with all of these. He looked down at the paper that had his final clue. He refused to go down to breakfast with his watch.

_The channel of communication for we,_

_Tight of space though it be,_

_Still it is ours alone,_

_Marauders four perceive this zone._

Remus was rather proud of Sirius. He hadn't thought his vocabulary included words as long as "communication" and "perceive" just seemed like a word that Sirius wouldn't know. Maybe he'd had help from James.

He thought for a long minute. It was a way of communicating known only to the Marauders. There were mirrors for one thing, and the map for another. But the note said "tight of space" meaning a small area. The map probably couldn't be considered tight of space; it showed everything. And "zone" made it sound as though it wasn't the mirrors; besides that, James and Sirius always carried the mirrors on them.

There was one other place worth trying. Remus wondered what time it was and looked down at his wrist, forgetting for a moment that there was no watch on it. He was almost certainly going to miss breakfast entirely and possibly be late to his first class. He'd gotten the watch in first year so he could _avoid_ being late and now look at the trouble it got him!

He got down on his stomach and through James's blankets so that he could see under the bed. Before he could manage to squeeze through the opening, he had to pull out two potions books, a broom, and a half-eaten bag of pineapple-flavored sugar quills. He looked around for the watch and couldn't see it. Sure there were more things under the bed, but it was too darn dark to see anything properly. He slithered out again and took his wand off the bedside table.

Once more Remus slid under the bed in search of his watch. Amid all the clutter under the bed, he couldn't seem to find it. He slithered out one more time, rolled over onto his back, and squirmed his way back under again. With the use of his wand he soon found his watch spell-o-taped to the under side of the bed with a note.

_I knew you'd find the place, Moony,_

_Here's your watch and come to breakfast soony._

_If you make fun of my rhymes_

_I'll torture you with mimes._

_P.S. Look at 9/28._

Remus did and found the message from James and the message from Sirius. Also there was taped the contract between Lily and James. He started to laugh and ended up hitting his head. James finally got a date with Lily and they just had to tell him in the most "creative" way they could think of?

He wondered what he should write; it was apparent that such occasions as this were worth remarking upon. After all, you only get to be young once. If you don't break the rules when you're young then you'll crack one day and go off and break all the laws when you're old and get yourself thrown in Azkaban (so was James and Sirius's philosophy at any rate).

_**As Head Boy you shouldn't be writing on your bed like this, Prongs.**_

_**Moony: Oct. 2, 1977**_

Still laughing, he got up and hurried off to class where Sirius was waiting for him with two slices of toast and a glass of orange juice. Remus sat in the back of class with Sirius, eating his breakfast and discussing how they should get Peter to read the note—it seemed only fitting that he should be put through as much hassle as they were.

* * *

OCTOBER 5, 1977

Peter huffed. Why him? Why was it _always _him? If Remus and Sirius had it on good authority that some Slytherins had planted something in their dorm, then they should check themselves. But _no_ they all made excuses, even James. Well, technically James hadn't said what he had to do, just that he was busy and couldn't help Peter search. He didn't even know what he was looking for. Smoke bombs, stink bombs, itching powder, scorpions, bubotuber pus? Knowing the Slytherins it could very well be anything; Sirius had dyed the Slytherin Quidditch team's hair red last week. Peter still wasn't exactly sure how he'd managed that but all the seven of them had scarlet hair now.

He looked down at his list. Sirius had given him a list of places the Slytherins liked to use to prank, trap, or trick people.

1) Canopy over the bed

2) Pillowcase

3) Under the bed (i.e. spell-o-taped to the bottom of the bed)

4) Water pitcher by the window.

5) Anywhere else you can think of.

Peter felt this was more of a list of where Sirius happened to find places to prank people rather than the list being genuinely Slytherin, but he kept his mouth shut. Three-quarters of an hour into his search he finally bothered to check under the beds. The first three beds yielded no more luck than anything else had, but at the fourth Peter found a note hanging from the underside of the bed.

_Wormy, hope you had fun with that game. The Slytherins weren't planning anything, thanks for checking though. Oh and read 10.2.77_

It was in Sirius's handwriting and it was most definitely Sirius's wording, but it was signed Moony and Padfoot and it was definitely Moony's signature. Peter fumed. He'd had homework he needed to get done and he spent all this time looking for traps that didn't exist. He read the new messages since the last time he'd written anything. Also there was a pact written by Lily and James and taped to the wood.

Feeling snarky, he directed his comment at Remus.

_**Neither should you, Mr. Prefect.**_

_**Wormtail 10-5-77**_

He trudged down to the common room to get some work done. If he didn't have his charms essay done by morning there'd be trouble.

* * *

OCTOBER 10, 1977

James was still counting down the days until his date with Lily Evans. His contract which had been missing until this point, had reappeared a couple of days before and he was quite hapy to have it back. Twenty-one days and he'd be the happiest man alive. While he hadn't "said" a word about the date to any of his friends, his three best friends all now knew and he was glad for it. He didn't tell anybody else but teachers and students alike noticed an extra spring in his step.

He smiled happily to himself as he started cleaning up his junk, organizing it, and putting most of it in his trunk.

Lily had come up two days ago looking for him and Remus for a meeting and had been absolutely appalled at the room. There had been feathers everywhere, some dog hair, candy wrappers, and a general assortment of garbage and junk. She also said the place smelled like sweat and wet dogs.

Now James was doing his part to help clean up the room. He was vanishing garbage left and right, throwing nasty clothes into the laundry basket, and throwing anything that was his into his trunk. So far he'd made a lot of progress. He'd even opened the window to let a little bit of fresh air into the room.

He figured that this neatness and tidiness would probably only last a grand total of twenty-two minutes.

He sat on the bed looking quite pleased with his work. However, sitting on the bed reminded him of something. He wondered if any of the guys had left any comments about his proclamation, since they all did know about it after all.

Curious, he got down and went under his bed, shining his wand like a flashlight.

Clear as day, he read the words and frowned. Was his bed some kind of wall they could tag whenever they felt like it? He thought of Lily and knew that if she ever found out about this, she'd tell him off for vandalizing school property.

_**Quit writing on my bed! Go carve letters into Wormtail's bed if you must.**_

_**Prongs 10/10/77**_

He'd added the last part mostly as a joke. Ah, the things they were leaving behind for posterity!

* * *

**Author's Note:** 1977 Part II coming hopefully soon! The first little story in this chapter took me forever and I didn't want to go on until I had it. Then I wanted to get all of 1977 done so that I could post the whole chapter together, but I figured I might as well post what I have now and the rest when I get it. Please review, it makes me smile! 


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